Posture chair and seat



4, 1953 w. c. HUEBENER POSTURE CHAIR AND SEAT Filed Jan. 18,

2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR WM- 6. HUEENE ATTORNEY Aug. 4, 1953 w. c. HUEBENER POSTURE CHAIR AND SEAT 2 Sheets$heet 2 Filed Jan. 18. 1951 INVENTOR WM- C'. HUfBE/VEE CHAELES M. HOG/Ml ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POSTURE CHAIR AND SEAT William 0. Huebener, Cincinnati, Ohio Application January 18, 1951, Serial No. 206,587

6 Claims. 1 The present invention relates generally to posture or health chairs or seats and specifically to .a novel seat which maintains the human body in such a position as to reduce blood pressure, induce relaxation, facilitate respiration, relieve the heavy load on the heart and contribute substantially to the posture and health of the user. While not limited to employment as a vehicle seat, it is of particular utility in automobiles, trucks, airplanes, trains and other vehicles and conveyances.

This invention is directed to the minimizing of nervous tension and capillary contraction caused by improper posture. Posture is of particular significance at the present time when mortality due to cardiac diseases has become such a serious problem as to attract primary attention from the medical profession. It is recognized that such diseases as hardening of the coronary arteries, high blood pressure, nervous tension, coronary occlusions, arteriosclerosis, excessive calcium deposition in the arteries, and related ailments are caused in large measure by the careless diet, unhealthy habits, worry, mental strain, intense activity, and general high speed living so prevalent today. Oddly, these diseases are almost unknown in quadruped animals, due in large measure to the horizontal position which they normally assume. Much of the cardiac difliculty more or less peculiar to man is attributed to his normally erect position, together with his habits of slouchiness which increase the pressure on the heart, already aggravated by the erect position.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a chair or seat having such constru tion that when the subject relaxes therein, he assumes such a position that the chest can easily expand, that adequate internal space for heart action is provided, and that the arteries, veins and capillaries will be opened.

In experimental medical work it has been found that the factors conducive to cardiac diseases are very substantially aggravated when the subject is engaged in driving a motor vehicle. Conditions of trafiic and speed and the resulting alertness and apprehension on the part of the driver greatly increase both the diastolic and systolic blood pressure readings of the driver. This rise in blood pressure is increased still more by the improper posture usually assumed by drivers. This invention is directed to the objective of providing a seat which maintains a relaxed subject in such a position as to minimize such blood pressure rises. It has been experimentally determined that each of the average diastolic and systolic blood, pressure readings of an average subject utilizing a seat in accordance with the present invention is lower than corresponding readings of the same subject using a conventional automobile seat by a striking difference of as much as twenty points.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in combination, a seat, a backsupport upwardly and rearwardly inclined at an angle with respect to said seat, said back support including an outwardly extending projection positioned at such a height from the seat as to exert pressure against the back of a subject on an arc which extends through the heart and a pair of spaced arm supports adjustably so positioned as to maintain the upper arms at an angular relationship with respect to the body. a

For a better understanding of the present invention, and a comprehensive appreciation of its objects, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which there is disclosed a preferred illustrative vehicle seat utilizing the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the bottom support and back portions of my novel vehicle seat, showing a subject in place;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the vehicle seat, showing the bottom and back and arm rest members together with the several mechanisms for adjusting them;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the seat illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Figs. 4, 6 and '7 are fragmentary sectional views taken along the section lines 4-4, 6-6 and 1 -1, respectively, of Fig. 2, in each case looking in the direction of the appropriate arrows;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of arrows.

The novel seat in accordance with the present invention includes a bottom support member ID of any suitable conventional character asv exemplified by many seat structures known in the vehicle seating and upholstery art. A back support II extends upwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of the bottom support 10. The back support is provided with a central projecting protuberance l2. This protuberance is arouate in section as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and it projects between and below the shoulder blades 2. sufficient distance to establish contact with and to support the body of the subject immediately behind the dorsal column. As indicated in Fig. 1, a section through the protuberance defines a chord l3, which chord terminates so that the suction of the lungs facilitates heart action; Third, adequate space for the normal expansion and pulsations of the heart.

Under the usual seating conditions prevalent in present day vehicles the heart functions as an overloaded, confined and restrained pump, and it is not at all surprising to a medical observer that cardiac ailments have been on the increase,the diihculties attendant upon nervous tension and arteriosclerosis being compounded by poor posture and the compressed condition of the heart. The unnecessary restraint imposed on the heart by improper posture is removed by the use of a seat in accordance with the present invention. The results accomplished by the present invention are produced by the combined action of the back rest, the protuberance, the angular relation between the back rest and the bottom support, and the lifting action of the arm rests, each contributing to relieve the heart from the effects of undue pressure.

While there has been shown and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made therein Without departing from the true scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a vehicle seat, the combination of a bottom supporting member, a back support generally inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending arcuate protuberance formed with an arcuate surface, the maximum projection of which surface exerts pressure against the back of a subject at a point along the line between the heart of the subject and the point of generation of the arcuate surface, thereby to provide back support prominence behind the lower chest wall of the subject, said protuberance defining a chord, the projection of which forms an included angle of forty-five degrees with the top surface of said bottom support, and a pair of arm supports for maintaining the upper arms at an angle with respect to the spine.

2. In a vehicle seat, the combination of a bottom support, a back support generally inclined upwardly and rearwardly relative to the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending protuberance formed with an arcuate surface, the maximum projection of which surface exerts pressure against the back of a subject at a point along the line between the heart of the subject and the point of generation of the arcuate surface, thereby to provide back support prominence behind the lower chest wall of the subject, and a pair of arms supports for maintaining the upper arms at an angle with respect to the spine, said protuberance having a subtending chord which when geometrically produced will form an angle approximating fortyfive degrees with the top surface of the bottom support.

3. In a vehicle seat, the combination of a bottom supporting member, a back support generally inclined upwardly and rearwardly relative to the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending narrow semi-circular protuberance supporting the back of a subject rearwardly of the heart of the subject, and a pair of arm supports for lifting the arms away from the trunk, said protuberance having a subtending chord which when geometrically produced will form an angle approximating fortyfive degrees with the top surface of the bottom support.

4. In a vehicle seat the combination of a bottom supporting member, a back support generally inclined. upwardly and rearwardly relative to the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending protuberance formed with an arcuate surface, the maximum projection of which surface exerts pressure against the back of a subject at a point along the line between the heart of the subject and the point of generation of the arcuate surface, thereby to provide back support prominence behind the lower chest wall of the subject, said protuber ance having a subtending chord which when geometrically produced will form an angle approximating forty-five degrees with the top surface of the bottom support, a pair of arm supports swingably mounted on the back support for maintaining the upper arms at an angle with re spect to the spine, and means for independently adjusting said arm supports.

5. In a vehicle seat the combination of a bottom supporting member, a back support generally inclined upwardly and rearwardly relative to the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending protuberance formed with an arcuate surface, the maximum projection of which surface exerts pressure against the back of a subject at a point along the line between the heart of the subject and the point of generation of the arcuate surface, thereby to provide back support prominence behind the lower chest wall of the subject, a pair of arm supports swingably mounted on the back support for maintainingthe upper arms at an angle with respect to the spine, means for independently adjusting said arm supports, and means for adjust ably tilting said bottom and back supports, said protuberance having a subtending chord which when geometrically produced will form an angle approximating forty-five degrees with the top surface of the bottom support.

6. In a vehicle seat the combination of a bottom supporting member, a back support generally inclined upwardly and rearwardly relative to the bottom support, said back support being provided with an outwardly extending protuberance formed with an arcuate surface, the maximum projection of which surface exerts pressure against the back of a subject at a point along the line between the heart of the subject and the point of generation of the arcuate surface, thereby to provide back support prominence behind the lower chest wall of the subject, and a pair of WILLIAM C. HUEBENER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,205,802 Silbert Nov. 21, 1916 1,576,613 Kellogg Mar. 16, 1926 1,937,920 Smith Dec. 5, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 624,412 France Apr. 9, 1927 

